GREENVILLE, SC: Two former South Carolina State football standouts are among the 25 finalists for the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame (SCFHOF) 2022 Class, the group announced Monday (Dec. 19).
The players who will eventually make up the latest class will be enshrined at the SCFHOF's 10
th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony on April 21, 2023 at the Hilton Greenville.
This year's finalists consist of 22 modern era nominees of players, administrators, and coaches, plus three legacy nominees. Representing the Bulldogs are John Gilliam of the modern era and Marion Motley, a legacy selection.
A legacy nominee honors those considered outside the modern era and/or have passed away. Each nominee was either born, grew up or played in the state of South Carolina, coached at one of the collegiate football programs in the state or has had a positive and significant impact on the game in South Carolina.
Motley, who grew up in Canton, OH, is one of four SC State players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played for the Bulldogs during the forties before transferring to Nevada. He went on to an outstanding eight-year pro career, mostly with the Cleveland Browns.
A Greenwood, SC native, Gilliam was a standout wide receiver and track star for the Bulldogs in the late sixties and went on to a standout 12-year NFL career with New Orleans, St. Louis, Minnesota and Atlanta.
Voting is completed online at
scfootballhof.org and open to everyone who would like to participate.
The final round voting period runs through January 10, 2023, and provides SCFHOF members, football fans and media outlets an opportunity to vote for up to four modern era nominees and one legacy nominee.
The Class of 2022 Finalists
SC natives who played college football outside South Carolina: Troy Brown (Barnwell), Dexter Coakley (Mt. Pleasant), Ben Coates (Greenwood), Rickey Foggie (Laurens), Albert Haynesworth (Hartsville), Tony Rice (Woodruff), and Clyde Simmons, Jr. (Lane).
Allen University: Sam Davis (Legacy);
The Citadel: Brian Ruff;
Clemson: Terry Allen, Joe Bostic, Jeff Bryant, Woody Dantzler (Orangeburg), CJ Spiller, and Jim Stuckey (Cayce).
Furman: Stanford Jennings (Summerville);
South Carolina: Sheldon Brown (Lancaster), Brad Edwards, Lou Holtz (Former Gamecock HC), Joe Morrison (Former Gamecock HC/Legacy), Corey Miller (Pageland), and Sidney Rice (Gaffney);
South Carolina State: John Gilliam (Greenwood), and Marion Motley (Legacy);
Wofford: Mike Ayers (Former Wofford HC).
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